Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I previously wrote about the Eric Holder's handling of terorism and the troubling issues it raises in Holder is a big problem. My point was that he had worked for a law firm that defended GITMO detainees and may have a conflict of interest when it comes to the prosecution of terror suspects.

Now we learn that the Justice Department has hired 9 other attorneys who defended terror suspects. And Holder refuses to name them.

Byron York reports in the Washington Examiner that:

"At a hearing three months ago, Sen. Charles Grassley raised the possibility of a conflict with Attorney General Eric Holder.

Grassley, a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, posed three simple questions: Who are they, who did they represent, and what are their duties at the Justice Department today?

At the time, Grassley knew from press reports that two high-ranking department officials now working on detainee issues had previously worked for detainees: Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal once represented Osama bin Laden's driver, and Jennifer Daskal, an official in the National Security Division, worked on behalf of detainees at the liberal organization Human Rights Watch.

"This prior representation, I think, creates a conflict of interest problem for these individuals," Grassley said, asking Holder to supply the names of all political appointees who had represented or advocated for detainees, the cases they worked on, and their terror-related responsibilities in the Justice Department."

This pattern from Eric Holder shows contempt for process and the American people who's representatives are tasked with oversight of the Executive Branch. It is an abuse of power to simply fail to comply with Congressional requests such as Sen. Grassley has made.

Holder is a dangerous loose cannon. But don't look for him to removed anytime soon. He carries out the wishes of his master just fine.